Federal regulators have revoked the charity status of a Canadian Islamic organization after an audit uncovered problems including tax receipts that were issued for donations to a Pakistani group linked to armed militancy.ISNA Islamic Services of Canada was stripped of its charitable status for “non-compliance,” according to records obtained by Global News. Authorities also revoked a related charity, the Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation.Both are former affiliates of the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada), and shared its Mississauga, Ont. address. Politicians of all stripes have attended ISNA-Canada events, notably Justin Trudeau in 2013 and, in April, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

The Canada Revenue Agency took action four years after the ISNA Development Foundation lost its charity status over fundraising for a Pakistani relief group linked to militancy in the disputed Kashmir region.Among the findings that led to the latest two revocations was that ISNA Islamic Services tax receipts had been issued for collections by a Toronto mosque for the “charitable arm” of a Pakistani group whose armed wing was fighting Indian forces.The money, raised by the Toronto-based Jami Mosque, was passed to the ISNA Development Foundation “for remit” to the Relief Organization of Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), the CRA Charities Directorate alleged in the newly-released records.“Our research indicates that ROKM is the charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami, a political organization that actively contests the legitimacy of India’s governance over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including reportedly through the activities of its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen,” the CRA wrote.Outlining the audit findings in a letter to ISNA Islamic Services, federal officials said Hizbul Mujahideen had been listed as a terrorist organization by the Council of the European Union and the government of India.“Given the identified commonalities in directorship between ROKM and Jamaat-e-Islami and the Hizbul Mujahideen executive committee, concerns exist that the funds collected and disbursed as part of this relief fund may have been used to support the political efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and/or its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen.”The leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, was placed on the U.S. State Department’s list of designated terrorists on June 26. He had threatened to train suicide bombers and turn Kashmir “into a graveyard for Indian forces,” the listing said.

​An image from a Facebook post by ISNA-Canada on Justin Trudeau’s 2013 visit to the organization, when he was Liberal leader.Facebook

The Canada Revenue Agency took action four years after the ISNA Development Foundation lost its charity status over fundraising for a Pakistani relief group linked to militancy in the disputed Kashmir region.Among the findings that led to the latest two revocations was that ISNA Islamic Services tax receipts had been issued for collections by a Toronto mosque for the “charitable arm” of a Pakistani group whose armed wing was fighting Indian forces.The money, raised by the Toronto-based Jami Mosque, was passed to the ISNA Development Foundation “for remit” to the Relief Organization of Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), the CRA Charities Directorate alleged in the newly-released records.“Our research indicates that ROKM is the charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami, a political organization that actively contests the legitimacy of India’s governance over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, including reportedly through the activities of its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen,” the CRA wrote.Outlining the audit findings in a letter to ISNA Islamic Services, federal officials said Hizbul Mujahideen had been listed as a terrorist organization by the Council of the European Union and the government of India.“Given the identified commonalities in directorship between ROKM and Jamaat-e-Islami and the Hizbul Mujahideen executive committee, concerns exist that the funds collected and disbursed as part of this relief fund may have been used to support the political efforts of Jamaat-e-Islami and/or its armed wing Hizbul Mujahideen.”The leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, was placed on the U.S. State Department’s list of designated terrorists on June 26. He had threatened to train suicide bombers and turn Kashmir “into a graveyard for Indian forces,” the listing said.“As the federal regulator of charities, the CRA contributes to the government’s efforts to combat terrorist financing by protecting the charity registration system in Canada from abuse,” said Zoltan Csepregi, a CRA spokesman.Csepregi said the CRA regularly exercises its authority to notify CSIS, the RCMP, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada when there are concerns that an organization is providing support to terrorism. However, he declined to comment on specifics for confidentiality reasons.

On its website, ISNA-Canada describes its mission as “building an Islamic way of life in North America.” It performs marriages and funerals, aids Syrian refugees and held a seminar on radicalization. It remains a registered charity with reported revenues of more than $3-million in 2015.Audits of ISNA-Canada and its former affiliates began in 2011, said Syed Imtiaz Ahmad, the ISNA-Canada president and chair of ISNA Islamic Services. He said the audits were ordered after irregularities were brought to the CRA’s attention. Four charities were audited because the CRA suspected they were “in a sense indistinguishable,” he said.The audits covered the years 2007 to 2009. But it wasn’t until June 2014 that the CRA informed the charities they risked losing their registration. ISNA Islamic Trust was also told it could face a $425,000 penalty.It’s unclear why the CRA waited three more years before following through with the revocations of ISNA Islamic Services and the Canadian Islamic Trust, which came into effect on May 13. But in letters dated March 30, the CRA said that after reviewing the charities’ written responses to the audits, the government’s concerns had “not been alleviated.”According to the records, ISNA Islamic Services had failed to keep proper donation records and had funded two separate organizations, the Islamic Centre of Toronto, known as the Jami mosque, and the Islamic Book Service, without exercising control over either group.It had also issued $340,000 worth of receipts for money collected by the Jami mosque. The arrangement allowed donors to the mosque, a non-charity, to obtain charitable contribution receipts — which would allow them to deduct the amounts for tax purposes. Some of the money was allegedly raised by the mosque for the Pakistani group the CRA said raised terrorism concerns.

Ahmad agreed the receipting had not been done properly. He blamed “ignorance plus recklessness” but said he did not doubt the money was meant for genuine relief efforts. He said changes had been made so that the Jami mosque would now operate under ISNA-Canada.“Our Jami mosque problem is solved,” he said.As for the Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation, the CRA records said the organization had “allowed itself to be governed” in the interests of several for-profit Islamic housing co-operatives, including the former ISNA Housing Co-operative.According to the CRA, the Islamic Trust invested in the cooperatives despite cautions in disclosures to potential investors that there was no certainty they would be profitable or be able to pay dividends on shares.The Islamic Trust was also found to have given $20,515 to three unqualified donees: the ISNA Human Development Institute (a federally incorporated entity that was dissolved in July 2016) and Islamic centres in Brandon and Yellowknife.Amhad said mistakes had been made in the past due to a combination of “sheer ignorance” and “possible malfeasance on the part of some employees.” The problems were also partly the result of the government’s narrowing definition of charitable activity, he said.But since returning as president two years ago, he said he had been working to ensure the organizations all complied with Canadian law. “ISNA has come a long way,” he said. “That situation has been corrected and we are now operating in full compliance.”“We are on the right footing now.”

Ahmad said the charity revocations were not discussed at an April 6 meeting with Goodale. “The subject was public safety. It was a totally different subject,” he said.Goodale met with ISNA-Canada leaders “to listen to their perspectives on current issues,” said his press secretary Scott Bardsley, who said the minister was invited by local Liberal MP Sven Spengemann.The meeting occurred a week after the two charities were notified of the decision to revoke their registration, but more than a month before the revocations came into effect.“The government believes it is important to listen to concerns from all communities to build the safe and inclusive country that we all want Canada to be. We do not seek meetings with discredited organizations, nor give their views weight,” Bardsley said.Mark Blumberg, an expert in non-profit and charity law, questioned why the CRA was not allowed the inform the public about concerns about particular charities until their status had already been revoked.The system means Canadians are unaware of potential misuse of their charitable donations, he said. The British Charity Commission of England and Wales regularly distributes information to the public when it has significant concerns, rather than waiting until status has been revoked.“It doesn’t mean the charity is doing anything wrong; it means [the Commission] is aware of it, they’re investigating it and then they can publish a report which says whether there is nothing wrong or minor issues were discovered or significant issues were discovered,” said Blumberg, a partner at Blumberg Segal LLP.“I think we’re not doing the public any favors by maintaining the secrecy: you have well-meaning donors who don’t know there is a problem and they are donating to organizations that may be involved with improper activities.”Stewart.Bell@GlobalNews.caSean.Craig@Globalnews.ca

Israel limits Muslim access to Jerusalem site amid tensions

​Jerusalem - July 21 - 2017 — Israel police severely restricted Muslim access to a contested shrine in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday to prevent protests over the installation of metal detectors at the holy site. Police set up a series of checkpoints, turning away worshippers heading to Jerusalem from Israel and the West Bank. About 3,000 officers were deployed around the Old City, barring entry to Muslim men under the age of 50, except for area residents.

​The dispute over the metal detectors has led to rising tensions between Israel and the Muslim world, with even friendly Arab nations, such as Jordan, appealing to Israel to remove the devices. With the heavy security measures Friday, Israel was effectively doubling down on its earlier decision. The detectors were installed earlier this week, after a deadly Palestinian attack at the shrine left two Israeli policemen dead.

​​Muslim religious leaders in the Palestinian territories have alleged the metal detectors are part of an Israeli attempt to expand its control over the Muslim-administered site, a claim Israel denies. The Muslim clerics have vowed not to relent on what has emerged as a Palestinian consensus issue, and the dispute could escalate. The volatile Jerusalem shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, sits at the center of rival Israeli and Palestinian national narratives and has triggered major confrontations in the past.​On Friday, about 800 Palestinians gathered for noon prayers, the highlight of the Muslim religious week, at the Old City's Lion's Gate, one of the flashpoints of violence. In recent days, thousands have prayed in the streets near Lion's Gate in the evenings, with smaller numbers then clashing with police.

On Friday, several dozen police officers stood near five metal detectors lined up across the gate, close the shrine, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The compound houses the Al Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques.

​Worshippers assembled outside the gate, rather than pass through the police checkpoint. Jerusalem resident Hashem Abu Diab, 60, led the crowd in chants of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is Great." Abu Diab said the dispute has united Jerusalem's Palestinians who see the 37-acre (15-hectare) compound as their last sanctuary from Israel's 50-year occupation of the eastern part of the city.

"The Al Aqsa Mosque is the last place we have in this country," he said. "If Al Aqsa goes, we lose everything. We don't leave until they remove the metal detectors." At one point, an Israeli police officer told the crowd in Arabic that ahead of the noon prayers, worshippers would be able to enter without going through metal detectors. After consultations with religious leaders, the crowd rejected the offer, insisting that the devices have to be removed altogether.

Israeli police said in a statement that the metal detectors will remain in place, but suggested police may at times choose to only conduct spot checks. "Israeli police can decide on the level of checks," said police spokeswoman Luba Samri.Police sharply restricted access to the Old City on Friday, after Muslim leaders had called for the faithful to converge on the shrine, but pray in the streets instead of pass through metal detectors.

Typically, tens of thousands of Muslims from Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel converge on the shrine for Friday prayers. On Friday, Palestinians below 50 were turned away at checkpoints on the outskirts of Jerusalem, including those heading to the city from Israel and from the West Bank. An Arab lawmaker in Israel's parliament says he and fellow Arab citizens were stopped by police at the entrance to the city.

A Palestinian advocacy group said Israeli police detained 10 prominent Palestinian activists in Jerusalem, including the leader of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement in the city. The age restrictions and police deployment came hours after Israel's security Cabinet decided not to overrule an earlier police decision to install metal detectors at the gates to the compound.

The decision to defer to police came amid reports of disagreement among Israel's security services about the need for the metal detectors. The military and the Shin Bet security services, which deal directly with Palestinians and potential unrest, were reportedly opposed to the devices.Israel had come under growing pressure this week, including from security ally Jordan, to remove the metal detectors. Jordan is the custodian of the Muslim-administered walled compound. The rule of Jordan's Hashemite dynasty, said to trace its ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammad, rests to a large degree on its role as guardian of the site.

Abbas, the Palestinian president, asked the United States to "intervene urgently" and compel Israel to remove metal detectors, said an adviser, Nabil Abu Rdeneh. Abbas discussed the growing tensions in Jerusalem in a phone call with Trump's top adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Abu Rdeneh said. Abbas told Kushner that the situation is "extremely dangerous and may go out of control" unless Israel removes the metal detectors, the Palestinian official said.​Associated Press writer Karin Laub in the West Bank contributed reporting.